Ecuador's Oil Output Collapses After SOTE and OCP Pipelines Shut Down

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Bad weather and erosion have led to the preventive shutdown of Ecuador's main pipelines for several days, prompting the closure of hundreds of wells.

Ecuador's oil output dropped to 134,000 barrels of oil per day (BBL/d) by July 7, compared to 464,000 BBL/d on July 1, following the closure of the nation's two main oil pipelines due to severe weather and river erosion. The pipelines transport oil from the Amazon oil fields to the Ecuadorian coast.

The government and Petroecuador (Quito, Ecuador) declared a force majeure in the operations of Sistema de Oleoductos Transecuatorianos (SOTE), a 360,000-BBL/d capacity pipeline, on July 3 as a preventive measure due to severe weather and river erosion, which threatened the pipeline's operations.

According to the government, the Papallacta-El Reventador section, through which the pipeline extends for 113 kilometers, was at risk of land movements. As a result, "oil pumping has stopped and the oil in the pipeline has been drained. Construction of the bypass continues to allow the oil to be transported safely," mentioned Petroecuador General Manager Leonard Bruns.

No information has been released on the SOTE since then, though Ecuador's oil production volumes reported by the energy ministry suggest that operations remained shut by July 7.

Similarly, the 450,000-BBL/d Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP) pipeline initially halted its operations on July 1 due to severe weather and erosion at the Loco river in the municipality of Gonzalo Diaz de Pineda, in the province of Napo. The company decided to build a bypass to reactivate operations safely.

On July 7, OCP announced the restart of operations in the morning, but a few hours later, it was forced to stop operations again despite having completed the bypass. The company reported the construction of a second bypass to mitigate risks against advancing erosion.

By July 3, at least 560 oil wells were forced to shut down due to the closure of pipelines.

River erosion during the rainy season has long affected energy infrastructure in Ecuador. This has forced companies operating the SOTE and OCP to shut down operations proactively to prevent oil spills.

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